Take the Shot!
by Sam Le Faie
Summary: They had ran and ran, but didn't manage to run far or fast enough. Having lost the race, it is now time to pay the price in a... photogravure shoot from hell! Not only that, what happens when a certain blonde happens to catch the eye of a second photographer, and she, too, is thrust into the spotlight? 1, 2, 3 and pose! [Based on ep75]


Inspiration shot an arrow through my heart after I re-watched episode 75 (24h Endurance Race) instead of burying myself in studying like I was supposed to. So I decided to do this story, again when I'm supposed to be studying… Ohohohoho!

Faie.

* * *

Take 1

The bulb on the camera burst into yet another series of glaring flashes as clicking sounds filled the air amidst the music playing in the background.

"Cool! Cool! Coooooooool~! Natsu – san, that pose is fantastic! Now, give me a smile!"

"Grrrrrr…!"

"That's cool too! Natsu Dragneel, you really are my idol! Coooool!"

"Argh, shut up with the cool already!"

"Oi, flame – head… just hurry up and get it over and done with. You look stupid in that outfit."

"If you think it's so easy, then you come do it!"

The pink haired dragon slayer swung a fist at his fellow guild member.

The dark haired ice mage was leaning against a wall, a bored expression on his face. Next to him, a young woman reached into her waist pouch and retrieved a new tube of hair gel, from which she squeezed out a rather generous amount of grey goo onto her palm.

"I _am_ going to! Which slowpoke do you think I'm waiting for to finish?!" The mage snapped back as he folded his arms.

"What was that, you underwear freak?!"

"Who are you calling a freak, you flaming shithead?!"

Gray took a step towards the dragon slayer, his fists coming up in a fighting pose as venial lines popped on his forehead.

"Gray – san, please sit down so that I can do your hair." The woman requested, as she rubbed her palms together to spread the goo out.

"Chh… Fine. I'll get you later, Natsu."

"Gyahahaha! You chickening out, hentai prince? Didn't know you were such a WIMP!"

"_That's it_, you sonofa-"

The ice mage leapt from the chair and dashed out onto the green floor where he tackled the pink – haired male onto the ground. Natsu Dragneel responded immediately to the other male's declaration of war by growling loudly and punching Gray's face in.

"Call me a wimp again, I dare you! You pink haired freak!"

"Gyaaa! It's not pink! It's salmon! Die, you stripping asshole!"

"Ahh, Gray – san!"

"Natsu and Gray fighting is cooolll!"

A few meters away, the ever hyper reporter jumped from spot to spot as he tried to capture every angle of the tussle.

"Ahhhh! Two of Fairy Tail's strongest mages fighting in front of me, cooooll!"

He exclaimed with excitement as the single spiky lock of his dirty blonde hair twitched in enthusiastic fervor, in a manner quite similarly to that seen with the First master, Mavis Vermillion sometimes. Jason's eyes squinted into slits as he clutched the camera close to his face, his trigger finger snapping frame after frame.

"Natsu – san, please throw a fire fist for the camera! Gray – san, make an ice sword as coolly as you please!"

"Haah?!"

The pair growled in unison as they turned to glare at the intrusive reporter who had now gotten a bit too close for their liking, their hands still clutched around each other's hair and torsos in death grips.

The reporter nearly hyperventilated from ecstasy.

"Ahhh! Your battle expressions are both so awesome! More, show me more!"

Around the trio, everyone had stopped to watch the ongoing tussle.

Assistants in tees and jeans carrying bulky boxes of props and costumes had paused mid step as they stared at the scene before them, some sweat-dropping and some gaped with dropped jaws, which was an entirely understandable reaction. It wasn't everyday that a fight broke out within their studios, much less a fight between two mages. After all, not every model that came before the camera had such a… propensity to recklessly jump into or even start fights.

Their boss however, was displaying a much different reaction as compared to their own. While they freaked over the costumes tearing and stage lights being wrecked, the avid reporter/photographer shrieked with unabashed joy as he circled the duo, his hands working furiously to capture the best of his idol guild.

"Coooo-"

"Geez. That Jason fellow is really noisy."

The black haired dragon slayer grumbled as he plugged his fingers into his ears to drown out the rest of Jason's voice. Not that it helped, dragon slayers had way too powerful senses. "Hey ow! That freaking hurt!"

"Kyaaa! I'm sorry!" The teenage assistant behind him shrieked in fear as she leapt away from the prickly male. Gajeel sighed in frustration as he ran a hand down his long mane of untamable black strands.

"Why do you have to keep trying to use that bloody contraption on me anyway? My hair's fine."

"B-b-but… Jason – san said that…"

The metal studded male groaned and leaned his head against the backrest of the couch. "Oh screw what that crazy guy said. You're never going to be able to comb my hair anyway."

The girl sighed in defeat. She couldn't argue with that. This was the fifth brush she was using now. The first four had... well, let's just say they had all met rather pitiable ends at the wrath of the mess of tangles that was the dragon slayer's long mane.

Next to him, the orange haired male's eye twitched in annoyance when the male assistant who was helping him prepare poked at his arm again.

"What now?"

The sparkles in the assistant's blue eyes never failed to scare the shit out of him, even though he had been subjected to it for nearly two hours now.

"Neh neh… What's it feel like to travel at such crazy speeds? I bet it's really awesome right? To feel the wind rushing past you, everything a blur…"

"Uh… I guess? It is pretty awesome."

Jet scratched the back of his head, slightly embarrassed. He wasn't used to having someone fan over him so much. Usually people tended to go for the ice mage, the dragon slayers and of course, the buxom women.

The High Speed mage startled when his assistant suddenly leapt up with a joyful yell.

"Ohhhh! I just got a great idea!"

"W-what is it?"

"Jet – sama… Next time you use your High Speed magic, can you carry me along?"

"Huh?!"

"Cause! Cause! Cause! It'd be so cool! Oh pleasepleaseplease!"

Geez, the young male was practically puppy-dog eyeing him, with his eyes shining with hope and his fists clasped in a begging pose. Jet sweat-dropped. While he _could_ carry someone with him while he ran, as long as the person wasn't too heavy, his assistant was a _male_. The mage could only imagine the stares and rumours that would plague him if people saw him piggy-backing some guy around town. Not to mention that his assistant was a rather young male, one who, quite unfortunately, bore some rather effeminate physical features.

Simply put, he was a _pretty boy_.

Yikes. What would Levy think? That Jet now batted for the other team?

The mage shuddered as he laughed sheepishly at his assistant. Thankfully, he didn't have to give a reply since his attention was now caught elsewhere. Jet's eyes widened when the studio door opened and a small group walked in.

More specifically, a trio of girls walked in.

"Levy! What are you doing here? Lucy and Juvia too!"

"Hi, Jet, Gajeel!"

Levy grinned widely as she walked over to where the males were sitting. Lucy and Juvia followed closely behind their blue haired friend, looking around the large hall in wonder. "We were bored so we came to see how the photo-shoot was coming along. Are you guys done already?"

"As if."

Gajeel sighed in exasperation, as he lifted his arms in a show of defeat. "Salamander and the ice freak still aren't done."

Lucy's eyes widened. "Is Jason taking that many photos of them?"

Jet laughed in response.

"More like because they keep interrupting the photo shoot every five minutes with a childish fight. Like the one n- Oh, Gray! You guys are done?"

The group of friends looked up as the ice mage walked over to where they were.

"Yo, guys! Whatcha doing here!"

The ice mage waved a hand friendlily only to recoil when a certain blunette leaped at him with stars sparkling in her eyes.

"Gray – sama! Your modeling outfit is so awesome!"

"Huh?"

Lucy sweatdropped. "Ano… Juvia. Gray is dressed in his usual pants…"

The water mage affected a shocked expression.

"Really?! Juvia didn't notice… But Gray – sama always looks like a model to Juvia no matter what he wears!"

Feeling playful, Levy leaned in and smirked at Juvia. "Even if Gray's not wearing anything?"

"Guuuuppppiiiii! Gray – sama n-n-n-nak-ke-"

The blunette didn't last long enough to finish the word; instead she huddled against a wall, her hands coming up to cover her flaming red face as Gray sighed at the woman before him. A movement to his side caught his attention. His assistant for the day, Mai, was walking over.

His _female_ assistant.

"Gray – san, please come with me. I need to get you changed."

Instantly, a dark, menacing shadow enveloped the water mage and she zoomed forward to glare at the intruder. "Who are you, and why does Gray – sama need to come with you to change?!"

"Uh… I'm in charge of his outfits today. Gray – san, please."

"Uh… Ok."

"Noooooo~!" Gray startled when Juvia suddenly latched herself onto his arm, not caring if the movement pressed her rather buxom chest against his body. In spite of himself, a tiny heat burned under his cheeks and he recoiled on instinct.

"I will take care of Gray – sama! Go away, Love Rival!"

"Huh?" The girl gaped in surprise.

Lucy hooked an arm around Juvia's waist. "Juvia, stop troubling her. Gray needs to change."

"LUCY – SAN! Could it be?! You're teaming with this… this… thing!"

"How mean!" Mai protested, not that anyone noticed.

"In order to get Gray – sama away from me?!"

The blonde sighed and shook her head. "Geez… How many times do I have to tell you? I'm not interested in Gray. Gray, tell your crazy girlfriend to get off my back, please."

"Girlfriend?!" Juvia's eyes immediately morphed into hearts and the sounds of her crazed heartbeat filled the air.

Gray gaped. "Oi, Lucy! Don't feed her imagination! And Juvia, you too. Let go."

"B-b-But!"

The Celestial mage grinned and whispered into her friend's ear. "Think of it this way, Juvia. If you let him go change, you'll get to see your precious Gray – sama in even more sexy outfits."

Her make-Juvia-release-Gray plan worked perfectly… Or maybe too perfectly. The blunette steamed from every orifice and she shrieked in excitement, before melting into a puddle of quivering happiness on the floor.

"Eh… Thanks, Lucy?" Gray stared at the wet floor in suspicion.

"Hai, no problem." The blonde grinned and gave him a thumbs up. "Anyway, where's Natsu?"

"He's up front. Jason's going batshit crazy over him." Gray pointed in the direction of the dragon slayer before disappearing into the costume department.

Lucy bid farewell to the trio of friends who were discussing excitedly about what they would be wearing. Or rather, Levy and Jet were discussing what the orange haired male would be wearing. The long maned dragon slayer blatantly refused to partake in such a stupid conversation and had instead resigned to having a snack while he waited, much to his assistant's horror.

"Gajeel – san! Please don't eat the camera stands!"

"Chh... I'm hungry. Besides, you guys aren't using it anyway."

"Still, we-!"

The voices from their bickering was soon drowned out by the background music, the clicks of the camera and the reporter's familiar shouts of "Coooooool" with a tongue roll as Lucy approached the front of the studio hall.

The moment she caught sight of Natsu on the green floor, Lucy couldn't help but burst into crazed laughter. The blonde fell back onto her butt as she smacked the floor and clutched her gut.

"Ahahahahahaha! Natsu, Oh… oh my God! What are you wearing?"

The pink haired dragon slayer snapped around to face her, his thoughts of the murder of a certain blonde reporter halting to a sudden stop when he realized that he now had another member in his audience.

"LUCY?! W-What are you doing here?!"

"Gahaha- W-we were free so we decided to come visit you guys here. Oh…Oh Gods, I can't stop laughing!"

The male's eyes bulged even further. "Who else is here?!"

"Just Levy and Juvia. Ah ha… Ah hahahahaha!"

"Shut up! Stop laughing!" The male snapped, swinging a fist at his blonde partner.

Lucy wiped a tear from her eye. "S-sorry…"

The blonde reporter whirled around to face the newcomer, his blonde spike twitching again. "Ah! You're that Celestial mage from Fairy Tail… Eh… Heartfilia… Luppy?"

"LUCY!" The girl snapped, her body immediately tensing. What was so difficult about her name that everyone kept mispronouncing it?!

"Ah, gomen gomen!" Jason shot an arm out at her offering a handshake, which she accepted. "You're part of Team Natsu right?"

"Yeah."

"Ahhhhh! That's so cooool! You get to work with the amazing Titania, Gray and my idol, Natsu Dragneel!"

"Uh… I guess…" Lucy smiled embarrassedly. "By the way, I love the outfit you made Natsu wear."

"Ahahahaha! Natsu – san looks amazing in everything!" The reporter sprung to action again, taking random shots from different angles, even though the male wasn't even bothering with poses anymore. The dragon slayer was simply standing there, scratching his head in a frustrated manner as he glared at the floor.

Lucy grinned and grabbed a handful of popcorn from a paper bag and stuffed it into her mouth. After all, who came to a free show without popcorn?

She scanned her gaze down Natsu's form again, and nearly spit up the popcorn from choking back her laughter, much to the male's consternation.

"I told you to stop laughing! Gaaah! I hope you choke and die!"

"How mean! I- pffft haha-! Ok ok, not laughing anymore!" She snorted. "Geez, but Natsu… You really look stupid in that outfit."

"Shut up!"

The male was wearing a dark red one – piece swimsuit matched with fishnet stockings and garters. While his hairstyle remained unchanged, he had been forced to put on a cat ears hair band with black fur. What made the outfit look even more ridiculous was the fact that the male had refused to relinquish his scarf; the length of white cloth striped with black was still looped around his shoulders, the final topping on a complete fashion disaster.

The male tucked his chin deeper into the folds of his scarf, willing himself to disappear from sight and grumbled in a muffled voice.

"Not my fault. Gramps told us that either we do the photo shoot without complaining or we are banned from the next two races. At least he took away the interview part and shortened 20 pages down to 10."

"Isn't that good though?" She piped up. "Running is tiring."

"Only because it's you."

"WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?!"

"Besides," He grinned, as flames suddenly burned in his irises of onyx. "Gramps promised us a really amazing present if we agree to the shoot. Ahhhhh! I can't wait to see what it is!"

Lucy chose to keep her silence, even though she figured that their guild Master had most likely played them for fools. After all, the old geezer was the one most excited about the shoot and had probably told the guys that just to make them give in.

She snorted back more laughter when the male was forced into yet another embarrassing outfit.

This time he was dressed as a geisha in a navy blue kimono with golden flowers etched along the ends. Since his natural pink spikes were not a match, Natsu had been forced to put on a black wig crafted in a shimada hairstyle, complete with gold hairpins and an ogi-bira kanzashi. His white scarf was then used to replace the obi of the outfit.

Lucy was smacking the floor in laughter as Natsu stewed during the entire process make – up was being applied to his face. Even the others who had grown bored of waiting at the back had come up to watch and were laughing shamelessly.

"Gajeel, Jet, you assholes! Wait till you guys get stuck doing this too! And why the hell are you dressed like that, Gray?!" He yelled furiously.

The ice mage was standing nearby dressed in a samurai outfit and was fiddling with his prop katana. The sheath was silver gilded in gold and went perfectly with the inky black cloth of his costume.

"You jealous, shitty flame?" He smirked, ignoring the way Juvia was fawning over him with fan-girl eyes.

"What the hell?! Hey, kora! Why does ice face get to wear that when I have to cross dress?!"

Jason peeked up from behind the camera and gave him a surprised look.

"Huh? Don't you think you and Gray paired up together in matching outfits is super cool? Ahhh~! You fight like you're enemies, but when it comes down to your hearts and minds, both of you are loyal to the spirit of Fairy Tail. Such a relationship is so touching, so beautiful! So cooooool~!"

Gray's eye twitched. "Geez, don't make it sound like I'm going to go all yaoi on this flaming bastard."

Lucy's and Levy's faces burst into shades of red while Juvia hollered in fear. "Natsu – san is a Love Rival too? Juvia is stressed out!"

"Sa sa… Gray – san. Here's the final piece of your outfit." His assistant, Mai, prompted as she fitted it onto his head snugly before handing the male a mirror.

"Final piece? Isn't this- Gyaaaaa!"

"Gyahahahahaha! Gray, serves you right for laughing at me!" Natsu chortled, as his own assistant hurriedly readjusted his wig after it had slipped and was now tilting pathetically to one side.

"Yo, Gray, nice hairstyle!" Gajeel snorted.

"Shut up, you metal freak! Why the hell do I have to wear this piece of shit!" Gray yelled as he grabbed the bald cap from his head and threw it onto the floor. The artificial top – knot sagged against the skin coloured piece and resembled a dead rat.

"Gyuh!" Lucy cringed and pulled back her lower lip.

"You can't do that, Gray – san! That is expensive!" Mai picked it up and dusted it off with a brush before moving to paste it on again.

"Gaaaah! Take it off!"

Jason grinned and waved his camera at him, signaling him to join Natsu on the green backdrop floor. "No can do, Gray. You promised your Master that you'd do this. Now, come on! Let's start our extremely cool photo shoot part 2rrrrrr!"

Gray mumbled and grumbled, his hand coming up to scratch at the head piece, only to earn him another scolding from Mai.

Jason called out from behind the camera as he continued to shoot away. "Gray – san, that's perfect! Now, put your right hand on the scabbard and the other around Natsu – san's shoulder!"

"The fuck?!" The guys yelled in unison.

"There's no freaking way I'm touching that cross dressing dragon!"

"Like I even want you near me! Oi, bastard! I'm not doing that with the underwear shogun! It's so gay!"

The reporter looked at them rather sternly. "It's not gay, Natsu – san! It's a show of friendship!"

"Friendship, my ass! Frost face can go take a flying leap down a fuc-"

"Geez, Natsu. You don't have to be so rude." Lucy protested, standing akimbo.

"Lucy! You're supposed to be on my side!"

"You promised Master, remember?"

"But the reporter is pushing his luck!" He whined back, tugging insistently on his wig again.

She wagged a finger at him.

"Ano – neh... Firstly, be a man and suck it up. You consented to this yourself. Two, just pretend that Gray is some faceless old geezer who you happen to be working with on an assignment. After all, we all get shitty assignments from time to time right?

"Lucy! What's that supposed to mean?!" Gray snapped. The blonde ignored him.

"Thirdly, and most importantly…" She affected a serious expression.

"W-what?" Natsu grumbled.

"Be quick about it so that I can buy the issue when it comes out!"

The dragon slayer growled and shook a fist at her. "Whatever... Hentai prince, hurry up so that I can get out of this stuffy outfit. It's freaking suffocating."

"Like I even want to touch you, you piece of shitfire."

Levy giggled in the background. "Gray, you don't have to be so tsundere about this! Just hurry up and hug Natsu already! I want to see Jet and Gajeel all dressed up in gay outfits too!"

"What was that?!" The ice mage and the steel dragon slayer growled, while the High Speed mage merely sighed and face palmed.

"Oh damn it, Gray. Just accept your fate like Natsu has and _do it_. " Lucy pouted. "You're wasting everybody's time."

"That's easy for you to say, you blonde bimbo…"

He grumbled as he edged millimeter by millimeter toward the dragon slayer, who was doing his darndest to pretend it wasn't _Gray_ who would be touching him. The ice mage lifted an arm and gingerly laid it across the length of the other male's shoulders with all the enthusiasm of touching a very large, hairy spider. Both guys' faces contorted in disgust when they finally made contact.

Thankfully, Jason was highly skilled at what he did, and the moment lasted all of two seconds, although the memory would forever be imprinted in their minds… and the issue that would come out the next week, since The Weekly Sorcerer was printed in a special ink tinted with magic so that it would never fade.

The time passed hellishly slowly with other forced poses between the two of them and Natsu Dragneel gave a loud holler of relief when his turn was finally over and the dark haired mage started on his lone shoots.

The trio of Gajeel, Jet and Levy had gotten bored since Gray was a better sport at the shoots than his comrade and had left the studio to get lunch for the rest of the guild members. It certainly helped that the ice mage's outfits were way less embarrassing than the dragon slayer's. Only with the frilly pink dress and fake boobs did he bitch up a storm.

Juvia stayed nearby the whole time, shrieking excitedly whenever he had to strike up a relatively ridiculous pose.

"Yes, Gray – san! Squeeze your chest a little more! Let's see those amazing breasts!"

"I'll give you something to see…" The male grouched as he fisted his hands, refusing to do as the reporter had asked and instead stood there stiffly.

"Woohoo! Gray! Yeah! Squeeze those boobs!" Natsu catcalled and pumped his fist in the air.

Lucy followed suit with a wolf whistle. "Awww! Gray, you make a sexy woman!"

"You damned bastards! Wait till I get over there!" The male fumed at them with crimson lips, violet lined eyes and rosy red cheeks. The sight of him all angry whilst dolled up in layers of mascara and blusher just made them laugh harder.

Natsu was close to crying and Lucy was rubbing her sore jaw from all the laughing. Only the water mage wasn't amused. She whirled around to face the pair, ready to breathe some fire of her own.

"Don't be rude, you two! Gray – sama deserves more respect!"

At the sight of the orb of liquid now pooling around her left fist, Lucy wisely stopped laughing but being the oblivious fool that he was, Natsu continued chortling away.

"Girly Gray~! Ahahaha- Guuaagh!" The male sputtered and coughed when a large ball of water came crashing into his face.

"Natsu!"

"Hmph. Gray – sama! Juvia took care of the annoying guy for you!"

The ice mage smiled appreciatively and gave her a thank you wave, to which the blunette responded by swooning against a nearby pillar, clutching her wildly beating chest.

"Geez… Didn't you see that she was armed and ready?" Lucy sighed as she wiped Natsu's face dry with a hand towel.

Natsu muttered curses under his breath as he stripped the scarf from around his neck and wrung it out on the floor, earning him glares from the nearby staff.

"That Juvia… She's just too short – tempered whenever that flasher freak is concerned."

The two of them had disappeared from the studio and into an adjacent corridor where Natsu continued to fume.

"That damned Gray, I'll make he pays for this!" He growled, and Lucy jumped back in shock when he suddenly combusted in a glowing lava hued flame that enveloped his entire body.

"Mou… Give me a warning before you set yourself on fire." She tsked, turning away.

"Hey, Natsu."

"Yeah?" The guy was patting his scarf dry with a satisfied smile, the cloth now toasty warm.

The blonde turned to face him, a delighted grin on her face. "I found the costume room."

* * *

Natsu paraded between the long aisles of clothing dressed in a set of tattered, mud stained shirt and jeans with fake blood splattered across his cheek and neck.

"Lucy, look! I'm a zombie! Grawwww!"

The blonde giggled loudly and wielded her foil sword at him. She was wearing a knight costume, with a stick-on breastplate and wrap around Velcro metal plates along her arms.

"And I'm Erza. Die, zombie!"

The pair laughed and chortled some more as Natsu grabbed a rubber brain and squished it in his hand, only to freeze when red liquid oozed out from between his fingers.

"Yergh. They really take their props a little too seriously." Natsu cringed as he wiped his hand off on a dress hanging on a nearby rack.

"You're not supposed to do that, idiot." Lucy facepalmed and threw him a box of tissues instead.

"Oho! I found something nice!" The male hollered excitedly as he flung a large brown coat over his shoulders in a dramatic fashion. The coat was large enough to completely cover him till only his head could be seen.

"Ahh! That's!" Lucy exclaimed.

"Yeah!" Natsu shot out one arm from underneath the velvet brown cloth. "Crash Magic! Disassemble!"

Lucy played along by mimicking a huge explosion with her arms and let out a loud "Dokan!" noise.

"Everyone bow before me for I am the strongest mage in Fairy Tail! Gray! You puny thing, submit before my awesomeness! Muahahahaha!" He stretched his arms out to each side as he declared and Lucy conked him on the head.

"Ow! What'd you hit me for?!"

"Gildarts doesn't do that, dummy. Don't ruin his image by making him a megalomaniac."

"A mega- what's it now?"

"Never mind… Hey, check this out! That's… A wooden barrel?" She peeked in, only to recoil again. "Yergh. That's alcohol. They have a Cana too."

The blonde strolled over to the next shelf to admire the array of shoes in the wall length shelf when she heard Natsu call out again.

"Oh oh! Lucy, lookie! It's Happy!"

"Wh- Hehehe!"

Lucy giggled against the back of her hand when she saw the male dressed from head to toe in a full length blue body suit and attaching fake angel wings to his back. He struck a pose.

"Sakana-ga daisuki!"

"Idiot! Happy's way cuter than that!"

The blonde secretly admired the way the body suit fit him very nicely though; it showed off his lean but muscular figure. The cloth outlined the defined planes of his abdominal muscles, flat belly and strong legs.

The male grinned and threw her two items. "Here's yours."

Lucy looked down and broke into a smile when she realized she was now holding on to another pair of wings and a white body suit.

Lucy emerged a few minutes later from behind the changing curtain and stroked her hands down her body, marveling at the soft cotton against her skin. The material felt almost like silk.

"Hey, Natsu. Check this o- Wha?"

She halted in surprise when he suddenly popped up beside her, holding some fake fish props.

"Charle, for you." He gave her his signature wide, toothy grin.

Lucy ignored the sudden pitter of her heart at how adorably innocent he looked and played along by snapping her head away from him and crossing her arms with a stubborn "Hmph." She closed her eyes and affected a haughty expression, though he could see a tiny smirk playing at the corner of her lips.

Chuckling amusedly, Natsu carelessly scanned his eyes over her body only to have his mind draw to a halt at the realization of how good the blonde looked cosplaying as Charle.

The sheer white material clung to every full curve of her body and left nothing to his imagination. Natsu hadn't ever bothered with the idea of romantic relationships since he was always either in the midst of fights or in the guild hall, where there were plenty of other distractions, such as more fights. But at this moment, the two were alone in this section of the room and Lucy was standing before him dressed in a skin tight body suit that glued itself to her generous curves like a second skin.

_Damn_.

She looked even more stunning than when she was wearing her revealing halter tops and skirts. Natsu gave himself a mental slap when he realized that he'd been caught staring; Lucy was looking at him curiously.

Hell, this fantasizing wasn't him, even if the male _was_ in his prime. Where had this random notion of his blonde partner being attractive come out from? He shook his head to clear his mind.

They fooled around some more with more outfits, leaving a mess of discarded clothing behind in their wake as they costume-hopped, much to the frustration of the people in the clothing department. Natsu and Lucy were finally kicked out of the room after he accidentally ripped through a thin sash after trying to wrap it around his torso.

A rather burly assistant picked them up by their collars and flung them out of the room back into the corridor.

"And stay out!"

The pair pouted as the door was slammed in their faces.

Natsu tsked in annoyance and pulled the blonde up to her feet. "Lucy, what do you want to do now? Shall we stay or go? I'm already done here anyway."

A contemplative expression came onto her face before she smiled and exclaimed. "Let's stay! I want to see Gajeel in make up."

A cheeky grin immediately split across his face. "Oh yeah… Metal face hasn't started yet! Come on, Luce!"

Natsu spun around and dashed down the corridor with her hand still clutched tightly in his, oblivious to the fact that her face had now taken on the reddish tint of a blush.

* * *

Guagh! 3am…

Faie.


End file.
